Reborn in 78, I made my fortune by working in the mountains, supporting three families on my own.

Zhou Shijie: "Cousin, you're blatantly lying! Look at those stacks of red bricks, piles of sand and gravel, and all these workers—doesn't that all make money?"

"I bet repairing this house will cost at least a thousand dollars, right? My dad even swallowed his pride and pleaded with you, a junior, on his behalf. How can you show no respect for your elders?"

Zhao Lei suddenly turned his head and glared at Zhou Shijie: "Shut the hell up! What do you know! You guys get out of here right now, I don't have any money for you, and don't even think about taking anything from my family."

She paused, then her voice grew even colder: "On the day my mother died, you didn't care about our family's affairs, and our kinship was severed. In all these years, you haven't come to help us even once, have you? Now you know I'm doing better, and you finally come knocking?"

Zhao Lei thought to himself, "That old saying really does come true."

No one asks the poor in the downtown area, and the rich has distant relatives in the mountains.

My uncle, who lives in a production brigade across several years and hadn't shown up for years, actually came to my door today, shamelessly.

Zhou Minghong's face turned ashen; he never expected Zhao Lei to be so heartless.

Before coming, he patted his chest and assured his wife and children at home that he was Zhao Lei's only elder.

Even though he hadn't taken good care of his nephew before, Zhao Lei would always lend him some money out of consideration for their family ties.

The results of it?

They didn't even give me a friendly look.

Zhou Minghong, his face grim, was still unwilling to give up: "Lei Zi, our family should help each other. Now that you've become wealthy, help your cousin. If you brothers visit each other more often, our family will prosper, won't it?"

Besides, I don't need much; I just want to borrow five hundred yuan. Repairing this house will cost at least two or three thousand yuan, right? And I heard you've earned quite a bit from hunting and fishing. Your uncle is only lending you this much money; are you really unwilling to accept it?

Zhao Lei looked at him and said, word by word, "I don't want to."

Zhou Minghong was speechless, his mouth agape, and he stood there dumbfounded, unable to utter a word for a long time.

Seeing that Zhao Lei and Qin Yuchan were so adamant, Aunt Li Xiuying realized that there was no hope.

Her eyes darted around, and her gaze fell on Jiang Xinyue, who was standing to the side.

This second nephew's wife seems gentle and mild-mannered, unlike the first one who was so fierce. Maybe there's still a chance for things to turn around.

Li Xiuying took two quick steps and, without saying a word, shoved the basket of eggs in her hand into Jiang Xinyue's hands.

She kept repeating, "Oh, niece-in-law, please accept this; it's just a small token of my appreciation..."

Jiang Xinyue could easily see through her plan.

When she married Zhao Lei, his father had already passed away.

But Zhou Guilan was still alive, and she had heard her mother-in-law talk about the unpleasant things her younger brother had done over the years.

Jiang Xinyue quickly pushed the basket back: "I don't want it, you take it back."

"Oh dear, niece-in-law, please accept it!"

"I said I don't want it!"

"Please accept it, niece-in-law!"

"Take it away now, we don't need this!"

"Whether you need it or not is your business, but whether you send it or not is a gesture of goodwill from your aunt..."

The two pushed and shoved each other, and in the struggle, one of them lost his grip. With a loud bang, the bamboo basket suddenly fell to the ground, and the eggs inside shattered into pieces.

Egg yolk spilled everywhere, making a mess on the floor.

Both of them were stunned.

Seeing this, Zhao Lei didn't even frown, and said coldly, "Xinyue, pay her for this basket and eggs according to the market price. Our family is the Zhao family, and I have had no connection with the Zhou family since my mother, Zhou Guilan, passed away."

Without saying a word, Jiang Xinyue took out some money from her pocket and stuffed it into Li Xiuying's hand.

Clutching the few bills, Li Xiuying's smile completely vanished.

With a livid face, she retreated behind her man, not daring to utter another word.

Zhou Minghong was still unwilling to give up. He opened his mouth, wanting to say a few more words of persuasion.

Suddenly, Qin Bowen's voice came from behind: "Brother-in-law, come and help! Who are you chatting with?"

That shout was perfectly timed; it was a divine assist.

Zhao Lei turned around and walked towards the construction site with his two ex-wives without looking back, immersing himself in the work and not even glancing at Zhou Minghong's family again.

"Zhao Lei! Lei Zi!"

Zhou Minghong called out twice from behind, but Zhao Lei acted as if he didn't hear him, bent down, picked up a shovel, and started shoveling soil.

Zhou Minghong and his family of three stood there, stunned.

They were caught in a dilemma, unable to move forward or backward, and their expressions grew increasingly grim.

Zhou Minghong gritted his teeth, cursing Zhao Lei to the core in his mind:

You damn brat!

He's really gotten cocky after making some money. Now he doesn't even respect his own family, not even me, his uncle!

How could my sister raise such an ungrateful child?

Zhou Shijie's face was burning with embarrassment, feeling as if everyone around him was looking at his family with mocking eyes.

He tugged at his parents' arms and whispered, "Let's go, Mom and Dad. Don't embarrass ourselves here. This Zhao Lei is heartless now; saying anything more won't change anything."

Zhou Minghong sighed deeply, looked at Zhao Lei's busy back, then at the eggs scattered all over the ground, and finally had no choice but to give up.

He turned around and, with his wife and children, walked back along the ridge of the field, looking dejected.

As Zhou Minghong walked with his wife and children back to Sanhe Township on the dirt road, he grew angrier and angrier with each step.

He kept cursing and swearing as he walked, repeatedly cursing Zhao Lei.

"You little brat! You have no humanity, you don't even recognize your own family! Now you've even abandoned your own uncle! You'll be childless and your lineage will end sooner or later!"

Li Xiuying followed behind and couldn't help but chime in, "That's right! Zhou Minghong, look at yourself, what kind of people are in your family?"

Yesterday you assured me that your nephew would at least give you some face, but what happened? He didn't even offer us a drink of water!

She got more and more excited as she talked, and asked in rapid succession: "What about our Jiewa'er's marriage? Xiaolian's family is insisting on a dowry of one hundred yuan, plus a bicycle and a sewing machine!"

These things aren't cheap! Just one old-fashioned bicycle cost almost two hundred yuan! Now we've lost face, and we haven't even borrowed anything. How are we supposed to get married?

After being scolded by her, Zhou Minghong felt a throbbing pain in his head.

He whirled around and yelled, "Can you fucking shut up? Do you think I don't know? I just didn't expect this little brat to be so heartless! I misjudged him!"

Who would have thought that this lazy bum who used to do nothing but gamble all day would turn out like this?

As he spoke, a sense of regret welled up in Zhou Minghong's heart.

He never expected Zhao Lei to be so successful!